Giants re-sign Carr to back up Manning

Published 1:04 pm, Thursday, March 21, 2013

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New York Giants don't have to worry about finding a backup for quarterback Eli Manning.

On Thursday, they announced they have re-signed David Carr, who was a free agent. The 2002 No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft has been Manning's backup in four of the last five seasons.

The backup role is somewhat ceremonial for the Giants. Manning has started 135 consecutive regular-season games, a run that started in the second half of the 2004 season.

Carr, who played in San Francisco in 2010, has played in 11 games for the Giants. He has completed 32 of 48 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

"David Carr can run, he's fast, he's athletic," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "No matter who we're going to play, he can be the opposition's quarterback and do it very well. He does a good job of it. He runs the option."

Carr's first tour with the Giants was in 2008-09. He appeared in nine games, completing 33 of 42 passes for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. After playing in one game for the 49ers, Carr came back in 2011 after Sage Rosenfels suffered a back injury. Carr did not play in the regular season or postseason that year, but earned a Super Bowl ring.

Carr was drafted by expansion Houston. He played five seasons with the Texans and one with the Carolina Panthers before joining the Giants. In his 11-year career, Carr has completed 1,353 of 2,267 passes for 14,453 yards, 65 touchdowns and 71 interceptions. He has been sacked 267 times, including a record 76 as a rookie in 2002.

The signing leaves the Giants with three quarterbacks on the roster. New York signed former Indianapolis Colt Curtis Painter after last season.

Coughlin has only kept two quarterbacks on the regular-season roster since 2008.